In this sermon, the preacher discusses how the people of God had become weary and bored with their worship and service. They doubted God's love for them and questioned where the evidence of His love was. As a result, they turned to wickedness and their actions became perverted. The preacher emphasizes that doubting God's love leads to taking matters into our own hands and opens the door for the enemy to come in. The sermon references the book of Malachi, where God confronts Israel for doubting His love and warns them of the consequences of their actions.

The sin that makes God cry. Now, no beating around the bush, let me put it right up front. The sin that makes God cry is doubting his love. Doubting his love for us. How could a God of love not cry when his own people doubt his very nature? For God is love. How could God not be grieved when his very own children live and talk as though he'd left them to their own devices, as though he didn't love them? You know that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh, and you know that he cried at the tomb of Lazarus. That was God crying at the tomb of Lazarus. That was God crying over friends who would not take him at his word. Crying over friends whose doubt caused them all this unnecessary grief. Crying because they could not accept him for who he was, because they couldn't rest in his promise of faithfulness. You know his own disciples doubted his love for them. They accused him of outright concern. They were in a storm-tossed boat. Christ was asleep at the hinder part of the ship. And they wake him and accuse him of outright unconcern. Master, carest thou not that we perish? How that must have grieved the heart of the Lord, and I believe he cried then. How could they be so blind? That was God in the boat. How could God not care? But when men get their eyes on circumstances rather than on the Lord, doubt always begins to take over. And Jesus was incredulous. How can you be afraid when I'm with you? How can you doubt my love? You have no confidence in me at all. That was the question. You see, I believe we today grieve the Lord even more because we stand on a higher mountain. We see further and longer than all of these in Bible times. We've sinned against greater light. We have a completed Bible. A full and detailed testimony of God's faithfulness to every past generation. We have the written record of 19 centuries now. Men and women of God who in detail have accounted the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ to all 19 past generations. We've seen all kinds of evidence of God's love in our own lives. His tender love and affection. We've witnessed the Lord's intervention in the details of our own lives. And still we doubt His love. Because the first crisis that comes upon us again, we say, where is He? We think it nothing to go about life, our everyday affairs, doubting His love. We think it's nothing. How can I grieve the heart of God by something I think or say? We doubt that He hears our cry. We doubt that He'll do for us what is right. We doubt Him and never once take in this concern that we may be making the heart of God weak. I see in the story of Joseph and his brethren a very clear illustration of the grief caused by unrequited love. Joseph, I see, is a type of Christ. In fact, I have a minister friend who listed over 500 ways in which Joseph typifies Christ. 500 ways. Joseph's brothers are a type of God's chosen people. That could be you and me. Because the scripture said, out of his loins would come kings. These were kings of nations. And you can see in Joseph's dealings with his brothers how God deals with us. It's a very clear picture. And yet, I want to show you from the scripture, one of the worst tragedies in all the scripture, how a generation of chosen men never once could believe that they were loved. And it led to all kinds of sin and shame and sorrow. Let me share with you what I believe the Holy Spirit's impressed upon me about what makes the heart of God cry. First of all, considering the brothers of Joseph, it was doubt of their father's love that caused Joseph's brothers to fall into deep sin. Joseph, remember, was 17 years old and he was greatly loved by his father because he was a child of his old age. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him, Joseph, more than all his brethren, they hated him. Now, the fact that Jacob loved Joseph so much did not mean he loved them any less. They were all loved by Joseph. You read the story of how he raised his children. They were at Bethel. They were totally down their idols. They all shared in his guidance. They all shared in Jacob's love. Jacob was a loving father. But they became jealous over what appeared to be a favored position of one of their brothers. Someone else was more favored in the eyes of the father than them. And in their minds, their father had an inequity in his love. And Joseph seemed to be getting everything his heart desired, including the fancy coat of many colors. Joseph seemed to have it easier than his brothers. He enjoyed more blessings. He enjoyed such a close relationship with the father. And it made them angry. It made them jealous. Have you ever had an envy in your heart over a Christian brother or sister who seems to get everything they want? Their prayers seem to always be answered quickly. They never appear to be lonely or unloved or unneeded. You see them cradled in the arms of God's love. And while you sit in a cold desert, feeling forsaken and unloved and unneeded. And brother, sister, that's dangerous ground. Very dangerous. The moment you believe your heavenly father loves you less than someone else, you open yourself to all kinds of evil. Unwillingly, we're accusing the Lord of neglect and unconcern. I hear God being accused of unconcern and neglect every day. Every day I hear it. I hear people say, I try so hard to do what's right. I've been faithful. I've been clean before the Lord. And nothing seems to change in my life. It seems like God loves other people. But he doesn't give me any evidence that he's at work in my life. I see others around me who are happy and carefree. And they aren't even as faithful as I am to the Lord. It just doesn't seem to be right. At times I feel like God's left me to do my own thing, leaving me to my own devices. I've heard people say, Brother Wilkins, it's just not fair. I've been so faithful before the Lord. I don't see the changes. Everything seems to go well for others. They're not one bit better than me. What's wrong with me? Why can't I have my prayers answered? Where is the evidence of God at work in my life? It was the doubt of their father's love that opened a floodgate of corruption in the lives of these men. And hear me, this is dangerous ground we stand on when we doubt our father's love. You keep in mind that these were not evil men. They were not killers. These were kings out of Jacob's loins. They were fathers of nations. They'd been to Bethel and they'd seen their father raise up an altar. They'd buried their idols under an oak tree at Shechem. They'd had new garments put on their back, a type of righteousness. And Job had warned them, put away the strange gods that are among you and be clean and change your garments. And they'd obeyed. They had seen the terror of the Lord upon all their enemies and they recognized that no enemy could touch them. They knew there was something special about them. Their idols were now gone. They had on new garments. They'd been to the altar. But deep in their hearts, these men were thinking, I am not loved as others. Our father is not equal in his love. We've been neglected. And something snapped in them at that moment and they changed as men. And the first thing that changes when you doubt your father's love is your language. An ugliness developed in them. Their accents became perverted. And the first thing they did was to take matters in their own hands. They decided to change things. The situation, as far as they were concerned, was unbearable. They couldn't stand it any longer. I've waited long enough. That's it. And it's an easy step from doubting the love of your father to taking matters in your own hands. The moment you take matters in your own hands and try to change things in your own strength and the moment your will tries to force a change in your life and condition, you're throwing your heart open to a flood tide of wickedness. You're throwing open the gates of your door for the enemy to come in. Listen to the way their conversation has changed now. It's almost incredible. Listen to these men of God talking now. Come, let us slay him. Let's kill him. Let's cast him into a pit. Let's sell him to the Ishmaelites. The Ishmaelites represented the most wicked people on the face of the earth. Enemies to God in the Hebrew. Listen to them haggling like slave traders with the Ishmaelites. No, five pieces of silver, not enough. 10, 15, no, 20. We want 20. They were given 20 pieces of silver and they're haggling with the Ishmaelites. And now these men's hearts are filled with contempt, betrayal, and out of their corrupted hearts now pours a stream of vile language. It's not only the language of doubt, it's the language of sin and the world. You show me a Christian who's doubting the love of God and I'll show you a Christian whose language is about to become corrupted. You show me two men and women of God that are having an act of adultery and they're playing out an affair and if you overhear their language, it's the same language you'll hear in a brothel with prostitutes. It's the same language because when you take matters in your own hand and you doubt the love of God in your life and the care of our Heavenly Father, the first thing that goes is your language. Christians who are trying to change things to suit their own desires overnight begin to speak the language of doubt and fear and despair and ungodliness. And it's absolutely shocking to hear the way some Christians talk now. Once they spoke with a godly fear and reverence. They spoke the name of Jesus with sweetness and glory. And once they spoke with faith and joy. They spoke softly and gently. Words that edified. You enjoyed being in their presence but something has snapped since you met them last because they've been doubting the love of the Father and they've been taking matters in their own hands and now you listen to them talk. They speak bluntly without reverence. They speak now what is in their hearts, fear and unbelief and despair. There's something unholy about the way they talk. Their speech, like Peter, betrays them. And you know there's something going on in the heart. And then when you doubt your Father's love, your language becomes corrupted. The final step is to become insensitive to sin. An incredible blindness came over these men. Their corrupted conversation led to criminal behavior. They became cold and calculating men. Now they not only talk like wicked men, they're willing to act like wicked men. They lost all guilt for sin. All hardness set in. Not only were they going to sin now, they were going to easily cover it up. They're going to go about their business as though nothing happened. They calmly, after they sell Joseph, after they speak so violently and wickedly, they go back to tending their sheep as though nothing happened. For 20 years, they carried this dark, evil sin in their hearts. For 20 years, they lived a lie. For 20 years, they went around in a spiritual stupor, still doubting they were loved, still believing they were justified in their actions because of what they considered a lack of love. Their consciences were seared. For 20 years, they sat at Jacob's table and they saw the grief of his heart and never once did they feel that they should confess it. They were unfeeling now. Oh, how low we go when once we doubt the love of God. How corrupt we become. How insensitive to sin. How easy it is to live with guilt. How easy to cover up our sins and justify our actions. I was stirred when I read Malachi's account of what was happening to Israel. The prophet Malachi said, because you doubt your father's love, you've ended up in such wickedness. Malachi said to Israel, the burden of the Lord, the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi, I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, wherein hast thou loved us? Malachi 1, 1 and 2. Israel, for some reason or another, had lost all sense of God's love for them. Listen to them. It's incredible. Where? Listen to them. Where is the evidence of God's love for us? Where is it? Show us. How is God showing us love? There's no evidence. You say you love us, God. Where's the evidence? They said it right to his face. And just as happened to the brothers of Joseph, their doubt began to lead them in all kinds of backslidings and evil. God said, now you abhor my name. You have changed. You have an inner loathing against me. You think you're not loved, so you secretly hate me. And furthermore, God said to them, and ye say, wherein have we polluted thee? How have we despised your name? They're insensitive to sin. Even God points out their sin and they don't know it. They're insensitive to it now. And all the tragedy that comes to a life that says, where's the evidence of God's love for me? God, show me. Where is the evidence of your love? These people of God became bored with their worship, bored with their service. Their choirs went through the motion. They gave him lip service. They were just empty shells going through the motions. They turned to materialism, to worldliness, to pleasure, to idleness. And sadly, nobody would do a thing in the house of God. The doorkeepers wouldn't even open the doors now without being paid. They became weary of God's narrow way. You have said, what a weariness it is now. What boredom. You've stuck your nose up at me. Verse 13, they flaunted their sins. They were committing adultery and coming and covering the altar with their tears. And the Lord said, now you sacrifice to me a corrupt thing. You may not say it, but have you been thinking it? Where is the evidence that the Lord truly loves me? Where is the evidence that my prayers are being answered? Nothing changes. God, show me. Show me. When you want proof of God's love in your life, you're doubting the very cross of Jesus Christ. Because the cross and the giving of His Son is the greatest evidence of God's love you've ever had. You're doubting the very gift of His Son. You do despite to the cross of Jesus Christ. And I tell you, this is dangerous ground. And I wonder if you and I have realized that to even think, to even think, for as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he, to think that God has not shown me evidence of love that He's shown others. Now, secondly, this leads to this. Not their doubts, not their sins could stop Joseph from loving them. Now, I'm going to talk to you about grace. This is the greatest story of grace. I can't read this story without weeping and breaking down. Ever since I was a child, this has been my favorite passage of Scripture. The story of Joseph and his brothers. God used a crisis to reveal to them how much they were truly loved. Actually, He created a situation where they got very hungry. It's a famine. That's what God does. He's going to work on you, makes you hungry. And the famine was upon all the face of the earth. And Joseph opened up all the storehouses. And when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, he said, get you down thither and buy for us. And Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy corn. Now, this is 20 years later. The sin is down deep, hidden inside their hearts. It's 20 years now. And Joseph is prime minister of Egypt. For seven years, he's been storing grain in the storehouses as God commanded him to. Now, these men were not just going down to get corn. God was sending them down for revelation of love. God was sending them down there to deal with something in their hearts. They're going to learn what grace is. They're going to experience mercy and pardon and restoration. They deserve nothing but judgment and wrath. And yet, God's going to show them love. Now, you keep in mind that Joseph is a type of Christ. 20 years now of sending cover-ups, put them out of touch with this man. The scripture says, and Joseph knew his brothers, but they didn't know him. There's a whole sermon right there. How people, when they live with hidden sin, no longer recognize their Lord when he appears. They're so dulled to his presence. They can come right into his presence and not recognize when he's there. And they can sit there hardened and unrecognizing his voice. And here they were now, all bowed down before Joseph, just as Joseph had dreamed. Was Joseph angry? Was his heart boiling with revenge? Was he going to make them pay for their sins? There they were. These were the brothers who, 20 years ago, sold him to the Ishmaelites. Oh, no, no, no. Joseph, a type of Christ, had bowels that were yearning after his brothers. His heart was breaking. He longed to show them his love. Well, then, if he longed to show them his love, why did he speak curtly to them? According to the word of God, Joseph spoke curtly, sharply to them. Then he accused them of being spies. It seemed to me, the first time I read this, that Joseph was toying with the emotions of his brothers, getting a little vicarious kick out of a little bit of revenge. But that's not so. There's a beautiful story of grace being unfolded here. I've had to apologize to the Holy Spirit for even thinking that, after the Holy Spirit opened this to me. You see, these proud men were not ready yet for revelation of grace and mercy. First, they had to see the ugliness of their sin, the emptiness of the flesh, the helplessness of the flesh. They needed to face their guilt and shame. They needed to come to the end of themselves until there was nothing left for them but mercy. And it's impossible to understand the grace of God until you come to the end of yourself. Do you realize that I am saved? You are saved by nothing Christ is doing in you, but what he's done for you. We're not saved by anything Jesus is doing in us. We're saved by what he did outside of us, years ago at the cross. He may be doing some marvelous things in your life, but you're not saved by anything he's doing in your life. Now you're saved by what he's done for you at the cross. Joseph throws them in jail for three days because he wanted them to face the ugliness of their sin to come to the end. That was the law at work. Joseph was the law. The law was going to give them the knowledge of sin, and that's all the law does. The law doesn't save. The law puts up before you such a demand, and you know you can't keep the demand, and it's a mirror of God's holiness held up before you, and when you look in it says, I'm helpless, I can never do it, and then you're ready for grace. Joseph overhears them in prison, and they're talking among themselves, and they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother. First time in 20 years they've admitted it, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, and when he besought us, we would not hear him. Therefore, has this distress come upon us? And they knew not that Joseph understood them, for he'd been speaking to them up to that time by an interpreter. They didn't even know him, and Joseph is listening to his brothers. The Scripture says, And Joseph turned himself about from them and wept. Why did Joseph weep? I believe it was because his brothers were still consumed with the deep bitterness in them. They had a grudge against God, and until that was dealt with, Joseph knew he couldn't reveal who he was. They weren't ready. They couldn't accept it. So Joseph holds off. He just goes and cries, and he's saying they're not ready. I have my heart so full of love, but they're not ready to receive it. Joseph discerned that there was something in their heart, and so he created a crisis to bring it to the surface. Joseph's servants were told to fill the brothers' sacks with corn and milk, and then, before they closed the sacks, put the money back at the top of the sacks. And they had gotten out of Egypt a ways, and one opened his sack, and there was the money. And he said to his brethren, my money is restored, and lo, it is even in my sack. And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, what is this that God has done to us? Look what God's doing. We're paying for our sin. This is what you get. What an attitude they had now. And when you doubt God's love, it's where it ends. Every time you doubt God's love, every time you fail, you're going to wait for God to strike you with cancer, or somebody in your family is going to wait for the shoe to drop somewhere. God's after me now. Because you don't know what grace is, because when you don't believe your love, you can't comprehend grace. You can't understand His love. All you expect is judgment. And they said, this is judgment. We're paying for our sins. And so they returned home now with double sorrow. Now it's all out in the open. Not only did they believe they were unloved now, they were also convinced God's getting revenge. God was out to hurt them and make them pay. The famine rages on, and finally Jacob says, you must go back. And they go back. And they go back to Egypt expecting nothing but judgment and wrath. Why did these men expect Joseph to judge them? Why did they expect revenge from Joseph? Because they didn't know him. They didn't know his heart. Why is it that we expect God to send judgment and wrath when we sin? Because we don't know His loving heart. We don't know His grace. We have no revelation of His heart. Fear is caused by ignorance of the sweet mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. But rather than accuse them, rather than judge them, as soon as they come back into the land, Joseph says, come and dine. Do you remember when Peter failed the Lord? Christ is resurrected now, and Peter's out in the boat trying to ease his conscience. And Jesus is on the shore, and He sees Peter in the boat. And Peter's heart broken. And Jesus sees him, and Christ, my Lord, doesn't yell, Peter, you thief, you betrayer, you wicked sinner. Jesus is cooking a fish, and He says, Peter, come and dine. When you talk about grace, Peter rose to the shore, rowed that boat to the shore, thinking, what is He going to say to me? How is the shoe going to fall me? He's going to judge me? And all the Lord wants to do is feed him. Come on, Peter, come and dine. Joseph, there it is again, the type of Christ. And He said to the ruler of the house, bring these men home, and kill the animals for food, and make ready for these men will dine with me at noon. And the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house. Can you imagine that? You know, where we stand in history now, we want to scream out, you simpletons, you foolish men. Don't you understand that Joseph's trying to love you, that there's no wrath in him, there's no judgment? He's invited you into the house. He's killed the fatted calf. He wants you to enjoy his presence. He's forgiving you. He's trying to show you something, you dummies. And I think sometimes all the hosts of heaven must be looking at us and say, simpletons, don't you understand the cross? Don't you understand his love, that there's no wrath and judgment in him right now? He died to pay for the penalty of your sin. And once you come, he invites you into his house. He's killed the fatted calf. You're to be eating the fat of the Lamb of God. Why can't you understand his love and his mercy? Was there any righteousness in these men at all? Was there anything in them that deserved this kind of treatment? No, not at all. That's what grace is. It's undeserved, unmerited love. Do you want to really see into the heart of Jesus? Even for sinful, failing servants of God? Those who have failed the Lord miserably, whose conversation has been vile, who've committed dastardly acts. Do you want to see the heart of God toward these kind? And Joseph made haste, for his bowels did yearn upon his brothers, and he sought where to weep, and he entered into his own chamber, and he wept there. In the Hebrew it said, his heart passionately longed after them. Here they were in Joseph's house, eating and drinking in his presence. But the Scripture says, and Joseph sat by himself, and they sat by themselves. And they drank and were merry with him. Now, what a picture. Can you see it? Do you understand it? Here are men in the house with Joseph, a type of Christ, eating and drinking and being merry. And he was over here, and they were over here, and a wall between them. Because even though they'd admitted they were guilty, they confessed their sin, they still had no vision of his love. They still didn't know who he was. Please turn the tape over for the remaining part of this message. This is a type of Christians who can go to the house of God and rejoice in his presence, eat and drink in his presence, but no revelation of love. There's still that inner grudge, a sense of being unloved, still raging in their heart. This is a picture of the Christian who go to God's house and sing and worship and praise, and then go home to the same old lie. God doesn't show me any evidence that he loves me. I'm still marking time. My prayers go unanswered. Nobody loves me. I'm unneeded. I'm unwanted. Isn't that something? There they are singing and dancing. And shouting in his presence and making merry. And there's a wall between them. How many are sitting here in this audience this morning? And you think it's your good pleasure, and it is to come in here and worship and praise. And there was a powerful spirit of praise here this morning. But you go home to the same old lie. He's not meeting my needs. I have no evidence of his love. Then the problem has not been solved yet. And so there's one final test. The revelation is not given to merry men. It's given to broken-hearted, contrite, and spirited men. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. They're broken in a contrite heart. Oh God, thou will not despise. They had acknowledged their sin, but they were not broken in their spirits. They were not contrite. That means humbled and repentant because of what they had done. And until they were completely broken, at the end of their bitterness, Joseph couldn't reveal his love. So Joseph commanded, he said, when they leave this time, take my silver cup and put it in Benjamin's sack, the youngest. And they had no sooner gotten out of his presence when Joseph sends his steward and said, which one of you has stolen my master's divining cup? And they were so sure that none of them had stolen it, they said, with whomsoever of my servants it shall be found, let him die and we will be your slaves for life. If you can find that silver cup in one of our sacks, whoever's sack you find, kill him. And we'll be your slaves for life. Oh, what a sight when Benjamin's sack is open and the steward holds up that cup. What a sight. Oh, how T. Austin Sparks, the English preacher was right. God will allow a crisis to be created in our lives out of which information will not extract us, but only a revelation of grace. And that's what's happened now. They're being exposed. They're coming to the end of themselves. And look what the scripture says. And they tore their clothes and they laid it every man his ass and returned to the city. They came to Joseph's house and they fell on their faces. It's all over. I'm finished. I'm done. I'm willing to do anything. They're at the end of themselves. There are no more excuses. Now, listen to these brokenhearted, contrite men. They said to Joseph, God has found out the sins of thy servants. Behold, we are your servants now. There's no more fight. There's no more pride. But you know, the beautiful thing, the deeper they dug into their sin, the greater the grace was revealed. You understand that the deeper you dig into your sin, the greater the vision of grace. But now comes the most beautiful revelation. Here's what it means to be family. Lord, help me get through it. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him. And he cried, cause every man to go out for me. Get everybody out of here. And there stood no man with him while Joseph made himself known to his brethren. You see, when God's going to reveal himself, the world's not a part of it. The scripture says, and he wept aloud, and Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard. Now, people outside the family of God can hear about his love and grace and mercy, but they really are not on the inside. This is family. God only reveals his love to family. This is family. Everybody out of the house. Everybody out. Do you remember when Jesus rode in the sand and all the Pharisees and all these men left? He's left alone with that woman and the rest who remained. That was the church. He wasn't going to judge that woman until Egypt was out of the room. Then he said, go and sin no more. That's when he judged her. God's revealing his love to his church in these last days, because unless we see a vision of the love of God for us, we'll never make through what is about to fall on this earth. God has to show us how secure we are in his love. And though we've sinned and failed, we have a Savior. We have a Joseph who loves us, though we deserve judgment and wrath. He still loves us. This is family now. And his brothers could not answer for they were troubled in his presence. He said, I'm Joseph. I love you. And they brothers could not answer for they were troubled at his presence. Now you take a good look at those troubled, trembling men who can't even look him in the face because you probably see yourself there. Troubled in the presence of the Lord because of some past sin, something you've done, a failure. And when God begins to move, you sit there in a troubled state of mind. But, oh, I hear the loving words of Jesus and what Joseph said to his troubled, trembling brothers. He said, come near to me now. Be not sad. Be not angry with yourselves. Thou shalt be near me, and now I will nourish thee, lest thou come to poverty. Then Joseph kissed all his brethren and fell upon them and wept upon them. What a scene of grace. Isn't that what happened to the prodigal son? His father fell on his neck and kissed him. He said, I'm not worthy. Just make me a servant. And they said, oh, no, no, no. If I made you just a servant, nobody in this house would believe I forgave you. If I forgive you, you come back and you're a full son. And I want you not just forgiven. I want you in the house. I'm going to kill the fatted calf. I want you in my house at my table. Hallelujah. What a glorious scene. And I love this scene because I've been there. I've stood where these men stood with my Joseph when he revealed his love to me. I knew what it was to sin against him. I've known what it is to feel that I was forgotten and loved and I carried the guilt and shame and perplexed by the way God was working in my life. At times I've taken matters into my own hands and I thought God was too slow and he wasn't working fast enough. I've known what it is to hide things in my heart, to cover things, to justify it. I've known what it's like to think God was mad at me. And when things went wrong that I was paying for my sins, I've looked into the future and I feared his wrath and judgment because I felt so unworthy. But oh, thank God for the day the Holy Spirit broke through and revealed the love of Christ to my heart. He invited me to come near to him, to feel his tender arms around me and his tears on my neck and a tender kiss. And he said, I love you. No matter what you've done, I love you. You betrayed me, but I love you. I have no guilt, no condemnation. There wasn't a word of condemnation from Joseph's lips. And my Lord says, I am Jesus, your brother. God sent me before you to preserve you and to save your life by a great deliverance. God hath made me Lord of all. Come near to me, tarry not. I will nourish you lest you come to poverty. That's what Jesus said to me. Now, this story has a sad ending. After all of this, these men never could believe that they were loved and they ended up breaking Joseph's heart. Jacob, their father, died, remember, and they're no sooner home from the funeral when the doubts came rushing back. And listen to this sad account. And when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will probably now hate us and will certainly retaliate against us for all the evil which we did to him. He's going to get his now. How in the world could these men talk like that after all the love that Joseph had shown them? Did they learn nothing from him? They sent messengers to Joseph and they said, forgive us. They'd been forgiven already over and over again. Forgive us! For we've done the evil. And Joseph wept when they spoke like that. Why? You know why he was weeping. Because they learned nothing. I freely forgave them. I nourished them. My heart has nothing but love if they only do what was in my heart. How can they doubt me? How can they do this to me? Now, that's the sin that makes God cry. After all his evidence of love, sending his own son, after all the way he nourishes us and cares for us, and then the first crisis that comes, we say, where is he? My children didn't grow up praying every night, forgive me, Lord, forgive me. My children grew up saying, thank you, Lord, for having forgiven me at the cross. My children were raised to learn to thank God for what Jesus did and accept the forgiving power of Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's a solemn thing to hear Jesus say, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? You know what he's saying? When I come again, am I going to find anybody who really trusts me, really believes they're loved? You know, when we talk about believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and I'll be shall be saved. Believe what? Believe that you're loved. Believe that you're cared for. Now, what could be more tragic than this, that he should reveal his perfect love and forgiveness, reconcile us, and then to imagine we're enemies to God, and that Joseph's saying, they don't understand I am their friend, and they think they're my enemies. And that's what grieves God's heart, and that's what makes the heart of God weep. That's the sin that makes God cry. Listen to what the scripture says. And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled or accepted you in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight, even the forgiveness of your sins. Even when you were enemies, I loved you. Even when you were my brothers who sold me out and betrayed me, I loved you. There's no wrath in me. He's not my judge now. He's my Savior. And I've come out of a dry wilderness, and he's filled my sack with corn and grain, and then he says, move in with me. Sit with me in heavenly places. Hallelujah. I'm going to nourish you and care for you. And I tell you before I close, I came this morning feeling how solemn this is. I say, God, by your grace, I'll never again doubt your love for me. Whether I feel it or not, whether I see any evidence of a prayer being answered or not, I'm going to rest in your love. Believe that you're working all things together for good, and that I'm to rest in that. Hallelujah. I'm not going to make his heart cry. Don't tell me God has no healings. He's touched with the feelings of our infirmities. If it's possible, grieve the Holy Spirit. If it's possible, the Holy Spirit to rejoice. His healing. Jesus is with God in the flesh, and if he wept, we make him cry. Lord, you've got to lift some burdens this morning from some hearts of people who haven't been taking this thing seriously. They've been so nonchalantly thinking to themselves, where is the evidence that I'm loved? Lord, the evidence is the cross, the gift of your own son.